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Good Neighbors offer helping hand to local residents
For several local residents, an urge to help out in the community could not be ignored.
Since Monday, dozens of local volunteers have been participating in the Good Neighbor Blitz, a coordinated week-long effort by area churches, youth groups, organizations, businesses, and individuals to work on homes in the area that are in need of repair.
The effort is important in helping people in the community who are physically or financially unable to complete various home improvement projects themselves.
"It's about going out and being able to help people in town," local resident and volunteer Sarah Gray said Wednesday as she paused to take a break from helping to paint the home of local resident John Mahoney.
Mahoney, who lives at 1409 Ransom St., said that assistance provided by volunteers has been very valuable to him.
"They're paying for everything -- the wood, the paint, for the work to be done. It's just awesome."
Mahoney said the work crew replaced an aging water heater inside his house, applied a fresh coat of paint to the exterior of the house, and completed other minor improvement projects to give the house a more appealing image.
Gray and other local volunteers -- between 60 and 70 people who have contributed to the project -- will work until Friday on about 15 homes in the area, according to First Presbyterian Church Director of Youth Ministries Treva Williams, the coordinator of the Good Neighbor Blitz.
"A lot of people have stepped up," Williams said. "We're working on six different sites and six different homes today (Wednesday), and we're actually ahead of schedule. Things have really come together and I'm really proud. We've worked really hard."
A few months ago, project organizers began distributing request forms to area individuals and families who need assistance with home improvement projects.
Projects that are completed during the group's mission -- which include yard work, painting and home repair -- are being funded through donations from individuals and businesses in the community, money from a mission trip that Williams coordinated last year, group fundraisers, and even money donated from people and businesses outside of Fort Scott. Each volunteer is also asked to donate $50 toward work project costs for the week.
Some area businesses have also donated employees to spend a day helping the crew work on the projects.
Williams said the idea for volunteers to participate in a community project came about during a mission trip that she and members of her youth group took last summer to Kentucky.
"We heard a speaker at a Christian music festival, and something he said kind of hit home," she said. "He asked how many of us know about the poor in our communities, the people in our community who can't make ends meet, or who don't have the money to fix their homes. We have the time and the kids who are willing to work, so we thought we'd attempt it and see what happens."
The First Presbyterian Church is supplying meals to volunteers throughout the week. After the work day is complete, all high school-aged youth spend the evening at the church to participate in educational programs about poverty. Eight groups of volunteers spend about two seven-hour days working on projects at each home.
Volunteers only worked on homes within Fort Scott city limits this year, but will try to expand the project into nearby communities next year.
Out of the 17 total applications that organizers received, two came from out of town, Williams said.
"We'll be trying this again next summer, and see if we can get even more people involved," she said. "We want to see what we can do with this. It's been a lot of fun, and a wonderful experience so far."